The DECC’s Board of Directors answer questions we’ve all been asking
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Community concern regarding the DECC’s budget continues to grow. After being approved for a $1-million line of credit, the DECC had to make the decision to eliminate 7 staff positions.
The board of directors released a statement addressing some concerns and clearing up any confusions.
“This concern has been a long-term trend and active conversation at the board level even before COVID-19. The situation was heightened this year due to substantially increased part-time labor costs and years of deferred maintenance resulting in an abundance of of necessary capital expenditures in a short time frame.”
Many people have questions about the recent turn of events.
A couple of those questions are, “why are you cutting staff when you received $1-million from the city?” The DECC’s response, “The line of credit from the city is for cash flow and doesn’t solve the annual structural deficit. The layoffs were made in an effort yo start addressing the structural deficit.”
After being approved for a $1-million line of credit, the DECC had to make the decision to eliminate 7 staff positions. The board of directors released a statement addressing some concerns and clearing up any confusion.
In short, the line of credit may not be used by the DECC. City Councilor Arik Forsman says that the line of credit does gain interest and is similar to any other kind of loan. The DECC’s Board of Directors say they hope they will not have to use the line of credit.
Another question brought forth is, “why wasn’t this brought forward sooner?” The DECC’s response to this was “we have known about seasonal cash flow issues for years. The board has questioned the sustainability of the DECC’s business model in the past and is supportive of finding new models to move the DECC forward. A big reason Dan Hartman was hired is to be more entrepreneurial and explore new business models.
The structural deficit’s come after year of wear and tear, says Hartman. Hartman says “in the two years I’ve been here we have had to replace so much.”
Forsman also notes that we need the DECC. “As a community we know that we need the DECC to be successful, it matter to our economy it matters to our community and so there has to be a path forward that emerges from this because there is no other alternative.”